A sample of 400 college students, 249 females, 149 males and 2 unspecified at a large southeastern university chose a verdict, identified variables influencing their verdicts, and completed attitudinal measures. Most students were between 18 and 22 years of age; 62 percent were white and 29 percent were black. A two-factorial design was used with eight conditions. The threat manipulation addressed the explicitness versus the implicitness of the threat to the woman, while the retreat manipulation addressed the woman's ability versus inability to retreat from the situation in which the killing occurred. Instructions by the judge regarding self-defense represented either objective or subjective instructions. Participants read one of eight possible vignettes about a battered woman who killed her husband. Results showed the opportunity for retreat increased the probability of a guilty verdict by five times. Objective juror instructions increased the odds of a guilty of a guilty verdict by almost two times. Explicitness versus implicitness of the threat and attitudes of mock jurors did not affect verdict choice. Rather, details about the abuse as opposed to personal traits of the husband or wife or reports from authority influenced verdict choice. 36 references and 4 tables